Plumbing

August 26, 2009 | Timothy F. Brick, Timothy F. Brick is chairman of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, representing the city of Pasadena.

Ageneration ago, Southern California water managers thought they had the solution for dealing with the hub of the state's water system -- the magnificent Northern California estuary known as the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. They wanted to build a canal from the delta to the existing aqueduct system that sustains San Joaquin Valley agriculture and Southern California. They were wrong. And now we finally have the chance to do it right. Five draft bills as part of an overall plan have been introduced in the Legislature that could lead to better governance in the delta and wise water management statewide.

Like Goldilocks searching for the perfect perch, Dong Yu tested one seat after another in the glitzy showroom. Some were too pricey, others too fussy. Then he found one that was just right. "You've got to try this," he shouted to his wife, to the delight of a fawning saleswoman. "This one's really comfortable. " The seat in question was a $400 toilet made by Japan-based Toto Ltd. Dong and his wife had just bought a 2,200-square-foot apartment in a tony section of China's capital and were prepared to splurge on a pair of eye-catching commodes.

A lawsuit seeking to prohibit faucet manufacturers from selling products that leach too much lead into water, filed by the state in December, is likely to be painful and costly for Pacoima-based Price Pfister Inc. The California attorney general's suit against Price, a major plumbing-supplies maker, and more than 20 other leading faucet manufacturers is intended to force the companies to stop selling the faucets or substantially reduce their lead content.

Regarding "LAUSD sees a future in career ed," Rick Wartzman, California & Co., April 27: I think John W. Gardner, former secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, said it best: "The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." Our society should reward excellence, not labels.

The Mesa Consolidated Water District is warning customers that information mailed to them recently by a plumbing equipment company might be misleading. Postcards sent to water district customers from Amtrol Inc. stated: "The water company has modified your plumbing. It might cause you some easily prevented problems." Mary Urashima, spokeswoman for the agency, said the water district was alerted to the situation when several customers called to find out what had been done to the system.

A panel that is helping revise the Uniform Plumbing Code announced Wednesday that it would continue banning the use of water-saving, flush-free urinals in public restrooms. The decision by the International Assn. of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials follows a hearing last week in Ontario at which plumbers' unions condemned the fixtures as unsanitary. Conservationists had sought the urinals as a way of saving up to 24,000 gallons of water per urinal each year.

City workers doing routine maintenance on fire hydrants on Balboa Peninsula earlier this week flushed out an old water pipe, inadvertently sending rust-tainted water into the plumbing of some homes. Pete Antista, public utilities superintendent, said he became aware of the problem workers were creating Tuesday afternoon when a handful of residents called to complain of orange and red water emanating from their taps. "It is not pleasing at all," Antista said.

Shell Oil Co. and Hoechst Celanese Corp. have agreed to commit $850 million to pay for the replacement of plastic plumbing systems that have leaked, according to a settlement announced Tuesday, representing the biggest property damage settlement in U.S. history. The plumbing involved in the settlement is polybutylene pipe with metal or acetal insert fittings. The pipe is a flexible, plastic pipe that is usually gray, black or silver when used indoors and blue when used in a yard service line.

Boeing Makes Design Changes: Boeing Commercial Airplanes has made design changes to prevent wiring and plumbing mistakes such as those found on 94 Boeing jets in a recent government-ordered inspection, company officials said. Boeing said it was using different-sized fittings, putting the connections in different locations and using labels and color-coding to prevent the problems found in jetliner engine and cargo hold fire detection and extinguishing systems.